The invention concerns a process for the manufacture of extremely fine powders, which are ground wet in a mechanical grinder and subsequently dried. In addition, the invention concerns an installation for the execution of said process. Powders of the most diverse kind (for example calcium-carbonate, titanium dioxide, bentonite, dolomite, talcum, pigments, etc.) need to be of increasingly finer granulation size for reasons of application technology. Currently attainable fineness sizes are around 1 .mu.. In order to attain these fineness sizes, the powders are ground wet as components of a suspension in mechanical grinders (ball mills, bead mills, annular gap mills, etc). After the grinding, during the wet phase, the powders need to be dried. Spray dryers can be used for this purpose.
During the drying phase, re-agglomerates frequently develop in the spray dryer. These must subsequently be sifted out and the powders must be once again ground wet in order to restore the original fineness, as well as dried and sifted.